In Morgan Springs, Alabama, a nice hour and 45 minute drive out of Birmingham, there's a swathe of rich sandy loam where Johnny Barnes has set up Fall Line Hills Farm. Heard of it before? Johnny also grows local produce for Shindigs Catering & food truck, and through their support, they've helped grow Thai herbs and vegetables for Alloy.

Central Alabama has a wonderful climate, with subtropical heat and humidity half the year, along with mild winters. The summer is perfect for growing Thai produce: long beans, which grow vigorously to produce bean pods several feet in length; roselle, a type of hibiscus with delicious green leaves and red calyxes (called jamaica in Spanish) that produce a tangy, fruity drink; several types of Asian pumpkins; eggplants, including a unique yellow Thai variety; sour tomatoes for northern Thai dishes and crisp pink Thai 'princess' tomatoes; several Thai basil varieties.

In the cool season, we'll grow long white radishes, Chinese celery, cilantro, arugula (not a Thai vegetable at all, but it works wonderfully in Thai dishes), cabbages, kohlrabi, and Asian mustards. We'll set up greenhousing to sustain tropical necessities like kaffir lime and wild betel pepper through the winters, and we're always enthusiastic about creating new local farmer partnerships.

1 month of planning, weeks of gathering honeysuckle for syrup and freezing pandan ice and harvesting 60+ lbs of beans, 30ish hours of prep, 2 nights of the event, 250 guests. We did it.

Dinner Lab was such a success, and it was so exciting for us to debut in front of such a great audience and in a fantastic venue, a huge room full of vintage and antique firetrucks at the Continental Gin building.

The menu highlighted old-fashioned Bangkok dishes with royal influence; in fact, nearly all of the recipes were adaptations of recipes written or dishes described by late 19th century royals and aristocracy, including King Rama V, Thanpuying Pliang Pasakonwong, and Mom Leuang Neuang Ninrat.